Stroke of Genius

None of which sits well with Streuer, who leans toward the neat
side--not out of fussiness, but out of an overriding concern that her
students' written words be understood. "I'm kind of a visual teacher,''
she says. "And I'm very particular about the final product.''

Although visions of good penmanship dance in Streuer's head, other
visions dance in the mind of the average 6th grader: usually adenoidal
teen rockers with big hair and improbably clear skin. Trying to teach
these kids with straightforward lessons in cursive writing is, like,
you know, a joke.

So instead, Streuer borrows a page from a very old book and tries to
appeal to the artist in each student: She teaches them italic writing,
a softly swirling form of the ancient art of calligraphy. Using nothing
more exotic than a number two pencil, its point worn down to a sharp
wedge by rubbing it back and forth across a bit of scrap paper, the
students learn handwriting from a whole new angle. Once they are
proficient, she offers them the use of pens designed for this
letter-perfect art. She also keeps instruction books around, which
students may use to further refine their technique.

"It's more interesting than penmanship classes, and it demands a
certain level of skill and attention to detail,'' Streuer says. "Once
they've learned to write in italic, they write straighter on unlined
paper because they're so focused on the shape of the letters, the
sizes, and the spatial relationships.''

Streuer's students get lots of practice because she has them work on
compositions every day in class. "They do rough drafts, edit them, and
then publish their work in a book, which they sew together,'' Streuer
says. "Italic writing allows them the opportunity to have their
published work look even better. And the kids are noticed because of
their writing. Other kids comment on it. It has a visual look that
stands out from cursive handwriting. They're very proud of their
work.''

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